Christian women condemn killing of Lankesh

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Mumbai: Indian Christian Women’s Movement has condemned the “cowardly murder of “Gauri Lankesh, a journalist who challenged the right wing forces in India.

“We salute Gauri’s courage and commitment to the democratic and secular values of our constitution. She went to the extent of putting her life on the line to speak out against those who tried to tear apart the democratic and secular fabric of the country,” the movement said in a press release on September 6.

Lankesh was shot dead the previous day at the entrance of her house in Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

The Christian women’s movement note that Lakesh was a”powerful voice” that threatened fascist forces in the country.

The movement noted an eerie similarity between Lankesh’s killing and the murders of rationalist thinker M M Kalburgi two years ago. The former vice chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi, some 355 km northwest of Bengaluru, criticized the right wing and was shot at his residence.

In an interview to Narada in December 2016, she boldly Lankesh had proclaimed, “As a citizen of India, I oppose the BJP’s fascist and communal politics. I oppose its misinterpretation of ‘Hindu Dharma’ ideals. I oppose the caste system of the ‘Hindu Dharma’, which is unfair, unjust and gender-biased.”

She also said the Indian Constitution taught her to become a secular citizen, not communal. “It is my right to fight against these communal elements,” she had added.

The Christian women urged the Karnataka’s law enforcement machinery to arrest those responsible for Lamkesh’s murder.

They want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep his promise of not tolerating any kind of violence in the country and rein in forces that use violence to promote communal ideology.

“We hereby express our admiration and appreciation for the fearless Gauri Lankesh, and declare our solidarity with those who uphold secular values ,freedom and truth. Gauri, your voice will continue to live on and will not be silenced,” the press note concluded.